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Witness to deadly pursue crash: Suspect – s car – exploded

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Witness to deadly pursue crash: Suspect’s car ‘exploded’

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KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) – Two days later, a West Michigan man was still in disbelief after witnessing a police pursue end in a flamy crash that left two people dead.

Michigan State Police say a driver – identified by family as 16-year-old Alex Torrez – fled a traffic stop around Ten:15 p.m. Saturday and troopers gave pursue. The pursuit ended in a crash in Kentwood.

An undated photo of Alex Torrez courtesy Facebook.

Marcus Pinkley was heading east on 52nd Street on his way to work. He had just slowed to a stop at a crimson light at Broadmoor Avenue when he caught view of headlights in his rearview mirror.

“I’m telling, ‘Man, this dude is coming real prompt. He’s coming swifter than usual.’ And when he came past my van, it shook it,” Pinkley said Monday, speaking to twenty four Hour News eight at the scene of the crash.

The driver never stopped, flying by Pinkley in the right lane. Then there was a violent influence with a car going through the intersection.

“He caught them – pow! As he hit here – baboom! It exploded. And when he went up in the air, he was already on fire. The car was on fire when he come up and spinned in there,” Pinkley described, gesturing to the spot where the suspect’s car ended up. “That was it.”

Shaken, Pinkley put his van in park and attempted to grab his phone to call 911. But within moments, before he could dial, police cruisers had swarmed the scene.

“It was like thirty seconds, they were there. They had everything blocked off,” Pinkley said.

That’s when he realized that a police pursue had led up to what he witnessed.

After watching that crews had a treat on the scene, Pinkley made his way to work. But the tragedy stuck with him, replaying in his head. He said he was shocked to hear someone survived the wreckage.

The suspect driver, Alex Torrez, was hurt and remained hospitalized in stable condition on Monday. He does not have a driver’s license, records display.

Undated courtesy photos of Tara Oskam (left) and David Torrez.

Two other lives were lost: 15-year-old David Torrez, the passenger in the suspect vehicle, and 21-year-old Tara Oskam, who was driving the other vehicle.

“I’m just feeling for the family right now. ‘Cause it’s a loss,” Pinkley said.